SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

About SWA…

• headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

• Established in 1967 with the name Air Southwest Co. And adopted its current name in 1971 .

• As of June 5, 2011 it is the largest airline in the United States based upon domestic passengers carried

SWA headquarters in Dallas

In May 2011 the airline acquired Orlando-based AirTran Airways, with full integration of the carriers taking place over several years, and on March 1, 2012, the company was issued a single operating certificate meaning that from a technical standpoint, Southwest and AirTran became one airline. As a result, following the merger, Southwest also began operating the Boeing 717.

As of September 30, 2011 it was the largest operator of the 737 aircraft worldwide with over 550 of these aircraft in service, each operating an average of six flights per day.

Southwest has 37,000 employees as of December 2011 and operates more than 3,300 flights a day. As of January 2012, Southwest Airlines operates scheduled service to 97 destinations in 42 states

Employment

Gary C. Kelly Herb Kelleher

For SWA, Employees matter the most. They give more emphasis on the needs of their employees. They even star on the advertisements of SWA airline. As of December 2011, there are approximately 37,000 employees.

Advertising

The company has employed humor in its advertising.

Slogans include:"Just Plane Smart"

"The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You"

"THE Low Fare Airline".

"Grab your bag, It's On!"

shortly after Southwest started using the "Just Plane Smart" motto, Stevens Aviation, who had been using "Plane Smart" for their motto, threatened a trademark lawsuit.

Instead of a lawsuit, the CEOs for both companies staged an arm wrestling match. Held at the now demolished Dallas Sportatorium and set for two out of three rounds, the loser of each round was to pay $5,000 to the charity of their choice, with the winner gaining the use of the trademarked phrase

Herb Kelleher lost the match for Southwest, with Stevens Aviation winning the rights to the phrase. Kurt Herwald, CEO of Stevens Aviation, immediately granted the use of "Just Plane Smart" to Southwest Airlines. The net result was both companies having use of the trademark, $15,000 going to charity and good publicity for both companies.

SWA Effect

Southwest has been a major inspiration to other low-cost carriers, and its business model has been repeated many times around the world. The competitive strategy combines high level of employee and aircraft productivity with low unit costs by reducing aircraft turn around time particularly at the gate

Airlines with a business model based on SWA:

Europe's EasyJet and Ryanair

Canada's WestJet

Malaysia's AirAsia (the first and biggest LCC in Asia)

Qantas‘s Jetstar (although Jetstar now operates two aircraft types)

Philippines’s Cebu Pacific

Thailand's Nok Air

Mexico's Volaris

Turkey's Pegasus Airlines.

Awards and Recognitions

For 2007, Southwest Airlines came out tops in the Travel segment of American Brand Excellence Awards. (Recognize leading national brands that best serve the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses)

FORTUNE magazine has listed SWA as number three among America’s Top Ten most admired corporations. (10 consecutive years)

FORTUNE has ranked Southwest Airlines in the top five of the “Best Companies to Work For” in America

Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards program was honored in InsideFlyer magazine's 2006 annual Freddie Awards for Best Program of the Year, Best Award Redemption, Best Award, Best Web Site, and Best Bonus Promotion Honors.

Business Ethics magazine lists; "100 Best Corporate Citizens“ – eight year in a row. (list that ranks public companies based on their corporate service to various stakeholder groups.)

American Small Business Travelers Alliance ranked SWA as "Best Airline Among Small Business Travelers.“

The Port of Portland presented Southwest Airlines with the Environmental Excellence Award in recognition of an exemplary effort in the category of Environmental Innovation

Destinations

Currently, Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states, with more than 3,300 flights a day

Southwest does not use the more traditional "hub and spoke" flight routing system of most other major airlines, preferring instead the "Point to Point" system

An average of 80% of Southwest passengers are local passengers, meaning only 20% of all passengers are connecting passengers.

As part of its effort to control costs, Southwest sometimes uses secondary airports in cities which generally have high costs

Example: Southwest flies to Chicago-Midway in Chicago instead of Chicago-O'Hare.

Top Served Cities

Cities

Baltimore-Washington

Daily Departures

252

Number of gates

26

Cities served nonstop

55

Service began

1993

Chicago-Midway 243 35 61 1985

Las Vegas 229 19 55 1982

Atlanta 196 31 59 2012

Phoenix 183 24 49 1982

Denver 163 19 54 2006

Orlando 163 12 33 1996

Houston-Hobby 143 17 33 1971

Dallas-Love 127 15 15 1971

Los Angeles 113 11 21 1982

Oakland 108 13 19 1989

International Service

On April 19, 2012, southwest Airlines, whose reservations system doesn't have the capability of handling international reservations, announced it has signed a contract with Amadeus IT Group to help it begin international service in 2014. The contract also provides the option for Southwest to convert its domestic business to Amadeus in the future

Products and Services

Southwest offers free in-flight non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic beverages available as well for a small price

Southwest has complimentary peanuts or pretzels on all flights, and most flights have free Nabisco snacks

Southwest is known for colorful boarding announcements and crews that burst out in song. The singing is quite popular among passengers

Southwest is also one of the few airlines to offer Dr. Pepper as a beverage option

Southwest Airlines has consistently received the fewest ratio of complaints per passengers boarded of all major U.S. carriers that have been reporting statistics to the Department of Transportation (DOT) since September 1987

In Flight Wi-Fi

Southwest announced on August 21, 2009 that it will begin rolling out in-flight wi-fi Internet connectivity via Row 44's satellite-broadband based product. Southwest began adding Wi-Fi to its aircraft in the first quarter of 2010, they hope to have all airplanes equipped sometime in 2012

Evolve Interior

Southwest introduced a plan to retrofit its fleet with a new interior. Improvements include a modern cabin design, lighter and more comfortable seats made of eco-friendly products, increased under-seat space, new netted seatback pockets to provide more knee room, a new fixed-wing headrest and improved economics. The carrier has begun the retrofits and expects to finish outfitting the fleet by the end of 2013

Frequent Flyer Program

The Company Club credited for trips flown regardless of distance. Southwest Airlines named its frequent flyer program “Rapid Rewards”

No blackout dates, seat restrictions or expiring credits. It also adds more options to use points. The new program uses points and is determined by the fare.

“Employees come first, customers come second and stockholders come last.”

– Herb Kelleher

THANK YOU!